Actors at Colonial Williamsburg don't lecture about African American history. They live it.

Elizabeth Randolph glared at the slave who had burst into the parlor, interrupting the conversation the gentry woman was having with a friend.

Randolph smoldered. The audience lining the room froze.


The scene unfolded on a recent Friday morning, but it was set in 1770s Williamsburg, demonstrating the delicate interplay between the ruling class and the house slaves it depended on.

The enslaved woman, Eve, could be punished for the indiscretion, but she couldn't wait. An older slave was in another room dying.


"Braches has stopped breathing," Eve said, gasping. "Can I call the doctor?"

Randolph shouted: "Death comes for us all, Eve!"

Eve struggled to keep her composure. She asked politely if she could at least tend to the body.

Randolph gave her curt approval before exiting, leaving the friend and another slave, Sarah, in her wake. The story wasn't done; Sarah would face her own disappointment in a few minutes.

The half-hour production, "A Perfect Adornment," is part of Colonial Williamsburg's Black History Month programming, showing the Revolutionary era from the perspective of its African American citizens.

By 1775, on the cusp of the war for liberty, Williamsburg had a population of about 2,000 . More than half of its residents were of African descent , and almost all of those were enslaved. Many weren't given last names in the records. The few free blacks lived in a secluded area of the Colonial capital.

Katrinah Lewis, artistic director of the actor interpreter department, created several of the storylines and acts in some of the pieces.

"Adornment" takes place in a sitting room in the historic home of Peyton Randolph, an attorney general for the Virginia Colony and a cousin of Thomas Jefferson. Audience members are limited to a small number so that they can be within a few feet of the actors and can overhear whispered conversations, see brief, meaningful glances and the tears the women try to hide.

The characters are based on real people, with life details such as ages pulled from property records, letters and other historical documents. The scenario is fictional but is based on the customs of the time, the actors said.

For example, Randolph's friend Betsey Nicholas embraces her enslaved servant, Sarah, as if she were a sister. They giggle about Nicholas' upcoming wedding; she tells Sarah she will even give her one of her old gowns to wear.

Sarah will leave the household with Nicholas when she weds, but Sarah's 6-year-old daughter won't. Nicholas loves Sarah but has no empathy for a woman about to be torn from her daughter. The child, in Nicholas' mind, is property, and she's too young to be of use to her.

Historical records appear to show that Sarah's daughter was left with Nicholas' parents. The actors said that people know about the physical vulgarities of slavery, such as the whippings, but might not think about the psychological trauma. How do you navigate a world in which one minute you are treated as a person but then property the next? What was the mental state of the slave owners who believed that paradox?


"I want people to see that none of these relationships were simple," said Hope Wright, who portrays Eve. "I want people to see the cruelty ... people know of the daily cruelties, but they don't know what it's like to live minute to minute, hour to hour."

In the show, Eve and Sarah have a few minutes alone, and Eve reminds Sarah that she's only a pet or "adornment" for Nicholas. The slave owner's gift of a dress was more about the bride than about Sarah.

"We know from history that everything is an accessory to the gentry," Lewis said. "Being able to have a maidservant dressed well says something about you and your status."

Later in the afternoon, Lewis, Wright and Deirdre Jones, who played Sarah, headed for the Governor's Palace and the scene they created called "A Gathering of Hair."

Wright plays Elizabeth DeRosario, a free black who welcomes the two enslaved women into her home to prepare for a "jumping the broom" ceremony – or wedding – that evening.

The three actors crafted the story on the very real idea of how women socialize while getting their hair done. It is a window into what the three African American women would have discussed away from whites and men.

As they sipped peach brandy, Jones' character told of how her owner upset her but how she had to keep her cool in order to get a pass to leave the property and go to the wedding. Lewis' character was married to an enslaved man and had just had an argument.

She wants to have a baby, but the husband doesn't. Under the law, their child would be the property of their owner.

"He loves children," Lewis said, on the verge of tears. "But he hates slavery. He doesn't want to have a child with me."

Even though DeRosario is free, she still has her burdens. She is in love with a slave who lives several miles away. She wants to marry him, and she wonders if she should try to save enough money to buy him so they could live together. But there is no guarantee his owner will sell him. If he does, the law says she can't free him. She would have to petition the Governor's Council to have him freed.

She would treat him like a husband in all ways, she told her friends, but it might be difficult to reconcile being his "master."

"Would he resent me?"

The scene ended with applause, and the actors dropped their personas and talked to the audience. They like to do "check-ins" with people. The actors realize the material can be intense, especially when the people are literally so close to it. The actors invite people to ask questions or express how they are feeling.

Did DeRosario ever buy the man, someone asked? Records show that she did own a male slave over the age of 16. He wasn't named in the document, so no one knows if that was the man she loved.

Before the audience left, Wright, who played Eve and DeRosario, reminded the group that the storyline might have been created, but the history is real.

"These women really walked the streets of Williamsburg."

If you go

The historic site and interpretive programs are included with Colonial Williamsburg admission.

Colonial Williamsburg offers different pricing options, but one-day tickets are $40.99 for adults; $20.49, for ages 12 to 6.

The programs run throughout the month on various dates. Some programs like "A Perfect Adornment" will run through March as part of CW's Women's History Month programming.

Visit www.colonialwilliamsburg.com for the schedule.
